DALLAS -- The second his 3-pointer from the top of the arc dropped in with 1.4 seconds left,
Vince Carter, despite his new
Dallas Mavericks teammates mobbing him on the Thunder's home court, thought the game was only tied.
He didn't realize it put the Mavs up one as Oklahoma City quickly
called timeout to set up a last-ditch attempt that would have to be
executed with precision to work.
Of course, they, or rather he -- as in
Kevin Durant
-- drilled the game-winning 3-pointer well behind the arc off the
inbounds pass, giving the Thunder a 104-102 victory in the Mavs' third
game of the season.
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Layne Murdoch/NBAE via Getty ImagesIn
the third game of the season, Vince Carter gave the Mavericks the lead
with just 1.4 seconds left, but Kevin Durant drained a 3 at the buzzer.
"It was there for the taking," Carter said. "We just have to go out there and find a way. That's just what it's going to take."
That's not the way it has gone for the Mavs.
Two months later, back in Oklahoma City, the Mavs lost a one-point lead
with 46.2 seconds to go on what Dallas believes was a phantom foul on
Ian Mahinmi as he attempted to block
Serge Ibaka's short jump hook. Ibaka made both free throws for a 92-91 lead and the Thunder won 95-91.
Afterward, coach Rick Carlisle said he was in disbelief a foul was called. In the locker room,
Jason Kidd took it a step further and said the Mavs don't get the calls a champion should.
Add a third win with a dominant finish by OKC and the youthful Thunder
have turned conventional wisdom -- and the way this matchup played out
in the Western Conference finals a year ago -- on its head.
The Thunder will look to keep that trend moving in their favor when the
two franchises separated by 205 miles begin their best-of-seven
first-round series Saturday night in Oklahoma City.
"They have a little bit more experience under their belt with what they
went through last year," Kidd said. "Hopefully our patience will come
into play where come down last six minutes we feel like we can compete
with the best."
Crunch-time success has been a point of pride for Oklahoma City this
season after it endured national criticism for its undisciplined play
during key stretches of last year's West finals. The Mavs' surprising
lack of late-game success has caused a season's worth of consternation.
Dallas went from 10-6 a year ago in games decided by three points or
less to 7-8 this year. There are reasons that can be used to explain
the drop, such as meshing new players and injuries that kept units
changing.
"I'm not going to make excuses,"
Carlisle said. "If I was to analyze it, I would say that a lot of those
situations we would have been in a stronger position headed into the
crunch time if we had our full complement of guys. But we went through
some of those stretches last year and that's just part of it. Right
now, talking about the past isn't very productive."
The lost
opportunities at OKC were just two in a long line of examples this
season of Dallas' experience and savvy failing to close the deal, a
formula the elder Mavs count on against foes that are athletically
superior, but also more mistake-prone.
It's led to some ugly and disturbing numbers that won't bode well in a
playoff series: 13-20 on the road, 4-26 when trailing after three
quarters and 10-13 in games decided by five points or less.
"There were some possessions this year where I remember we didn't even
get a shot up, or turned the ball over, had some sloppy play," Nowitzki
said. "If we don't execute down the stretch, it's going to be a quick
out."
The belief is that a healthy lineup for really the first time all
season will build cohesion and lead to more efficient play at both ends
of the floor.
"We have to. It's as simple as that," Nowitzki said of changing their
late-game fortunes. "If we want to have a deep playoff run, we've got
to win close games. We've got to know how to close them out."
Carlisle said they will.
The 2012
Dallas Mavericks vs.
Oklahoma City Thunder
playoff schedule tips off on Saturday night (April 28). The No. 2
seeded Thunder serve as the host after finishing the regular season
with an impressive 47-19 record.
The Mavericks finished with the No. 7 seed in the
Western Conference
after posting a 36-30 record during the regular season. The Mavericks
are the defending NBA champions, but going up against the
Kevin Durant and
Russell Westbrook led Thunder in the first round is no easy task.
Game 1 of the series is at 8:30 p.m. CT on Saturday (April 28) and
it will get shown on ESPN. The winner of this series will advance to
the second round and play against the winner of the
Los Angeles Lakers vs. Denver Nuggets series.
During the regular season,
Oklahoma City won three of the four match-ups that the teams had.
2012 Dallas Mavericks vs. Oklahoma City Thunder Playoff Schedule
Game 1: Sat. April 28, Dallas at Oklahoma City, 8:30 p.m. CT (ESPN)
Game 2: Mon. April 30, Dallas at Oklahoma City, 8:30 p.m. CT (TNT)
Game 3: Thu. May 3, Oklahoma City at Dallas, 8:30 p.m. CT (TNT)
Game 4: Sat. May 5, Oklahoma City at Dallas, 6:30 p.m. CT (TNT)
Game 5* Mon. May 7, Dallas at Oklahoma City, TBD
Game 6* Thu. May 10, Oklahoma City at Dallas, TBD
Game 7* Sat. May 12, Dallas at Oklahoma City, TBD (TNT)
ATLANTA — Having already exceeded expectations, the Atlanta Hawks
weren't about to let home-court advantage slip away in the final game
of the regular season.
Led by Josh Smith, Atlanta raced to a
23-point lead in the opening quarter on the way to a 106-89 victory
over the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday night, ensuring the Hawks will
open the playoffs at home.
“We showed a lot of determination,” Joe Johnson said. “You could see that hunger in our eyes even before the tip.”
The
Hawks (40-26) wrapped up the fourth-best record in the East and host
Boston on Sunday. The defending NBA champion Mavericks (36-30) begin
the playoffs Saturday at Oklahoma City.
Atlanta pounced on the
Mavericks right from the tip, making 16 of 23 shots (69.6 percent) in
the opening period. Smith had the outside jumper working and seemed to
be everywhere, scoring 12 points, grabbing seven rebounds, dishing out
five assists and making a steal. A 28-7 run, capped by Willie Green's
3-pointer, pushed the lead to 36-13.
“It just opens up my game
when I have the opportunity to gauge whether I should be driving in or
shooting the jumper,” said Smith, who finished 10 for 14 from the
field. “Whenever I'm shooting the ball like that, it just makes me that
much more deadly on offense.”
The Hawks led 60-44 at halftime and
held off a brief spurt by the Mavericks at the start of the third
quarter, capping a season in which Atlanta improved on its winning
percentage from 2011 even after losing All-Star center Al Horford early
in the lockout-shortened year.
Horford, who is still recovering
from pectoral surgery, has ruled himself out for the Boston series but
still hopes to play if the Hawks advance from the opening round for the
fourth year in a row. While the team hasn't gotten past the second
round since moving to Atlanta in 1968, Johnson feels a special vibe
with this group.
“I'm very proud of what we've accomplished,” he said. “You saw a lot of guys come into their own this year.”
Dirk
Nowitzki led the Mavericks with 22 points, but it was another tough
night for the reigning champs. Dallas wasn't nearly as dominant coming
off its first NBA title, finishing far behind the top seeds in the
West, San Antonio and Oklahoma City. With only its first-round opponent
in doubt, the Mavericks had little to play for in Atlanta — and their
performance reflected it. “
“The first quarter was horrible,”
coach Rick Carlisle said. “It'd be a stretch to say we're playing our
best. At this point, we have to move forward. We're going to have to
flush this one — very quickly.”
Jason Kidd rested up for the playoffs, watching the game from the bench in street clothes.
“The dress rehearsal's over,” he said. “Now it's time for us to protect our crown.”
Jeff
Teague added 17 points for the Hawks, Johnson had 15 and Kirk Hinrich
contributed 12. Smith finished with nine rebounds and seven assists.
With
the home court no longer in doubt, Atlanta was finally able to rest its
starters in the final quarter. Green scored 11 points, Ivan Johnson
finished with 10 and the Hawks got 33 points overall from their
reserves.
Rodrigue Beaubois scored 13 points for Dallas. Jason Terry had 11.
“We're ready,” Terry insisted. “That's what you play for, another championship.”
The Mavericks closed the season losing four of their last six games.
“It
doesn't matter if you're on a high or a low,” Terry said. “The last few
games don't matter. It's irrelevant. The only thing that matters is how
we come out in Game 1.”
The Hawks are looking forward to matching
up with the Celtics. The teams faced in the opening round in 2008,
after Atlanta made the playoffs for the first time in nine years and
surprisingly forced top-seeded Boston to seven games.
This season, the Celtics won two of three meetings by a total of 10 points, including an overtime victory in Boston.
“We've
had a lot of chippy moments with them, a lot of good games,” Smith
said. “We've played this team well. It's going to be an exciting
series.”
NOTES: Hawks G Jannero Pargo did not dress because of a
sore back. … Atlanta coach Larry Drew is sounding less and less
optimistic about C Zaza Pachulia (sprained left foot) coming back for
the opening round of the playoffs. “Personally, I'm not getting my
hopes up too high that we'll have him,” Drew said. … This was the only
regular-season meeting between the teams. The Mavericks had won the
last three games against the Hawks, including a 2-0 sweep of last
year's series.
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